Special Screening : The Sound of Chopin
In partnership with the « 2nd Hong Kong Early Music Festival 2021 : A Historical Journey », organized by Concerto da Camera, Alliance Française de Hong Kong will bring to you :
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Directed by : Karen Kwok (郭靜君)
Duration : approximately 20 min
Being hailed as “the poet at the piano”, Polish composer Frederic Chopin was very
particular about the craftsmanship and tone of the pianos he played and was especially fond of those manufactured by the French company Pleyel.
According to the pianist-composer’s contemporary Franz Liszt, this preference was because of “their silvery and slightly veiled
sonority” and their “lightness of touch”.
However, the craftsmanship and timbre of the piano has changed significantly after two centuries of development. "Do modern people still
have a chance to hear the unique piano sound that once fascinated Chopin?",
asks the film director, Karen Kwok. In pursuit of an answer to this question, Ms Kwok has
created a music documentary, The Sound of Chopin, to be shown in the 2nd Hong Kong Early Music Festival.
Born and brought up in Hong Kong, Karen Kwok is currently engaged in film and
television production in France. In The Sound of Chopin, she interviews four music experts, including piano restorer Olivier Fadini,
who has carried out in-depth research on the Pleyel piano from the Chopin era; fortepianist Matthieu Schweiger; master
pianist Yves Henry; and Swiss musicologist Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger, a leading authority on
Chopin. Part of the interviews took place at at the George Sand’s House while the Nohant Festival Chopin 2021 was
taking place.
These experts explore the characteristics of Chopin's piano from different perspectives including instrument structure, musical
interpretation, and history.
The film allows us to watch piano restorer Olivier Fadini tuning the Pleyel piano in the George Sand’s House at Nohant, where the brilliant
writer and her beloved Chopin once lived. The film also takes us to M. Fadini’s studio in Paris, to see how an antique piano is lovingly
restored.
The Sound of Chopin will premiere in November.
生於波蘭、曾於十九世紀三、四十年代風靡法國的「 鋼琴詩人」蕭邦，其作品至今仍深受樂迷熱愛。蕭邦對鋼琴的音色非常講究，自他21歲去到巴黎後，便鍾情於法國製造商
Pleyel
的鋼琴。但經過近兩個世紀的發展，古今鋼琴無論造工和音色已經不盡相同， 導演郭靜君抱著「現代人仍有機會一聽曾令蕭邦心醉的獨特琴音嗎？」 這個疑問，拍攝《蕭邦的琴音》，
以紀錄片方式追溯「鋼琴詩人」喜愛的樂器和音色，這齣精彩製作將於本屆香港古樂節中首播。
導演郭靜君是土生土長的香港人，現居於法國並從事影視製片工作。由她製作的《蕭邦的琴音》訪問了古鋼琴家 Matthieu Schweiger，並於2021年法國諾昂音樂節進行期間，在蕭邦與愛人喬治・桑（充滿傳奇的十九世紀著名女作家）一起居住過的小鎮别墅中訪問到另外三位音樂專家，包括曾對蕭邦年代的 Pleyel古鋼琴作過深入研究的古鋼琴復修師 Olivier Fadini 、鋼琴大師 Yves Henry 和以研究蕭邦著稱的瑞士音樂學家 Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger。他們會從樂器構造、音樂演繹和歷史等不同角度，發掘蕭邦琴音的特色。
影片除了跟隨 Olivier Fadini 到喬治・桑的別墅作鋼琴調音，更特别到他在巴黎郊區的工作室拍攝，讓觀衆可一睹鋼琴復修師如何將被遺忘的古老鋼琴細心修復，讓現代聽衆也有機會聽見蕭邦所追求的、溫柔圓潤的獨特琴音。
《蕭邦的琴音》將於十一月首映。
Know more about
2nd Hong Kong Early Music Festival 2021 : A Historical Journey / 第二屆香港古樂節: 尋源之旅 :
https://www.concertodacamera.org/2nd-hk-early-music-festival-2021
Concerta da Camera / 雅樂合奏團
https://www.concertodacamera.org/
